Green-Building Standards Update Draws Fire

Members of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee are moving to prevent the General Services Administration (GSA) from adopting a proposed green-building rating standard that would discourage use of certain chemicals and plastics in construction.

The standard, called the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), is a rating system devised by the U.S. Green Building Council, an industry trade group. The system gauges how “green” a building is on the basis of various factors, . . .